Week of March 18th-- Focus on Connections

This week I picked up Matthew Quick's novel The Silver Linings Playbook. I started it Sunday morning and I simply couldn't put it down! Im about 100 pages into it.

Pat Peoples is the main character, and he has had some kind of a breakdown which has lead to him being in the "bad place" (mental institution) for at least 2 years. He had a wife, Nikki, whom he wants back in his life, but they are still on "apart time." Pat's mother has taken full responsibility for him and has checked him out of the mental institution so he can live with her and his father.

At this point, the author has largely left me in the dark as to what caused Pat's breakdown and where the heck Nikki is. What did Pat do to her that was so bad? Is it even possible she is dead? There are times Pat experiences uncontrollable rage, incidentally, this rage is often sparked by the cool jazz of Kenny G-- yep, the soprano saxophonist himself. Now I know you are reading this thinking: Okay, my English teacher has finally lost it. She is connecting to a character who is clearly insane. Well, kinda. Pat, like me (and like I believe all of us) struggles with keeping his emotions in balance. Now that he is no longer living in the "bad place", he wants to focus on being a good person, on being kind. In fact, Pat now has Tiffany (could she be a love interest for him?) following him around mainly because he was kind to her when he first met her, rather than giving in to himself when he wanted to tell her to simply go away and leave him alone-- he's married. He knows in his past that he lost people, especially his wife, because he was selfish and didn't care about others. He knows his anger stemmed from not talking about his emotions. He is so afraid to make these mistakes again, because he believes that because he was not kind, he was put into the "bad place". In Pat's world, he is sane. He looks for the "silver lining" in things-- the happy ending.

Like Pat, I think we all look to the clouds for the silver linings. We all want the happy endings, and perhaps the best way to ensure them is to be kind, considerate. To listen. When I read more about Pat, he makes me realize how important it is to find more coping skills-- to find the time to work through anger, or to keep my temper in check by humming (which disarms people-- you do the opposite of what they think you are going to do and that buys you some time to calm yourself down). Like everyone, I've made plenty of mistakes in life, some of which I wish I could 'do over'. If I can remember Pat and all of the ways he works to find his silver linings, then maybe I can stop myself before I hit the point where I need a 'do over'.

I really like Pat, and I think I will continue to look for ways I can connect to him as I finish the book. This is a difficult book to make connections to, since it seems like I am on a "need to know" basis regarding many of Pat's past details, and the author has decided I don't need to know yet. I'll keep you informed.